Blog
Practical, straight-talking advice for agency account managers who want to retain client relationships and grow accounts.
Expect clear frameworks, real examples and simple tools you can put to work immediately - from running tighter client meetings and QBRs, to spotting growth opportunities and handling tricky conversations.
Win the room: How to prep for presentations, with Martin Barnes
If you’ve ever walked into a client meeting (or a pitch… or a QBR… or onto a stage) and thought, “I’ve got so much to cover - how do I say it without losing people?” - you’re going to love this podcast episode with Martin Barnes.
Why the agency model is in decline and how independents can win, with Michael Farmer
In this episode, we talk with Michael Farmer to unpack what’s really going on in the agency world right now - and what it means for you if you’re running an agency, leading clients, or working in account management.
The question 63% of agencies never ask
Trust is something every account manager wants to build with their client – but it’s often elusive. According to research by consultancy firm Relationship Audits and Management, nearly two-thirds of agencies have never asked their clients this..
“The agency pricing model is broken”
I recently recorded a conversation with Jon Gwillim and Kate Eversole from PharmaBrands. They spend their lives embedded in pharma and healthcare marketing – running events, upskilling teams, speaking to agencies and their clients every single week.
AI Adoption in Pharma & MedComms: 2026 update, with Jonathan Gwillim & Kate Eversole
In this episode, we talk with Kate Eversole and Jonathan Gwillim at Pharmabrands about the shift in 2025 where we were talking to what's relevant in March 2026, which is all about AI agents.
How to build an exit-ready agency: Lessons & practical tips, with Gavin Bell
This episode with Gavin Bell is especially useful if you're an agency owner thinking about an exit, or perhaps you're an account lead who wants to help your agency become more sellable and less dependent on one person.
The human work behind the work
If you’re developing account managers, don’t treat soft skills as personality traits. Treat them as behaviours that can be practised.
Practise the moment you ask for the referral. Practise the wording that raises the out-of-scope CRO issue without sounding salesy. Practise the Friday scope creep conversation without wobbling or being defensive. Practise how you support your point of contact in a room full of seniors, while still leading the conversation.
That’s the human work around the work. And it’s where a lot of account growth lives.
How to reduce operational chaos in your agency, with Melanie Chandruang
We’re looking at the agency’s engine room - operations. And how getting the fundamentals right can improve profitability, reduce chaos and set you up for better use of automation and AI..
How to build trust with Procurement, with Jessica Bowler
This chat will be particularly interesting for you if you’re an agency owner or account manager who has to work with marketing procurement (especially in pharma / biotech industry).
AI-Enabled Workflows for Enterprise Brands, with Richard Coope
I’m joined by Richard Coope from Brightful, who helps large, complex organisations fix the brand, digital and cultural bottlenecks that block content and slow down campaigns, using AI-enabled workflows and marketing automation.
The Now, Next and Future of Agencies, with Spencer Gallagher
I’m chatting again with my go-to guru for the now, next and future of the agency business model, Spencer Gallagher. In this conversation, we really dig into what transforming with AI means in practice for you as an agency leader or account manager.
3 things to check in your biggest agency accounts
This week I ran three account growth workshops with agency teams – all very different types of agencies but some common themes came up. Here are a few scenarios and takeaways that sparked great conversations – and might be worth a nudge for you or your team
How an in-house AI Strategist supports client experience, with Meg Pescio and Tom Duffy
If you’re trying to work out how to integrate AI into your agency without losing the human side of what you do, this conversation will help.
How to build an agency sales engine, with Ryan Hall
This episode is for anyone in agency new business or running sales.My guest is Ryan Hall, Founder of Friday Solved, where he helps agencies build scalable and sustainable sales engines.
Rebuilding the agency model for the AI era, with Roy Murphy
If you've been watching AI reshape the marketing landscape and wondering what it really means for agencies, this conversation is going to be particularly interesting for you.
How to stay legally safe when using AI in your agency, with Ryan Lisk and Kay Yung
This episode is going to be really useful if your agency has started using AI tools or if your team are experimenting with AI note-takers, ChatGPT, or generative image tools and you want to make sure you’re staying legally safe, compliant and transparent with your clients.